Analyst Says Apple Will Skip iPhone 19; time to leave numbers?

The analyst firm predicts that Apple will skip the iPhone 19 name to jump to the iPhone 20 in 2027.

Omdia believes that the company will do this to mark the 20th anniversary of the iPhone, but it reinforces my opinion that it is time for Apple to completely abandon the numbers …

ET News reports on the forecast.

It is expected that Apple will name the iPhone released in 2027 as ‘iPhone 20’. At a conference held at El Tower in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 22nd, Omdia Senior Researcher Heo Moo-yeol said, “Apple will launch the iPhone 18e and iPhone 20 in the first half of 2027, and the iPhone 20 Air, Pro, Pro Max and iPhone Fold 2 will be released in the second half of 2027.”

I suspect this is speculation on Omdia’s part rather than based on any solid information, but if Apple were to consider a change to the numbering system, I think it’s time to move to a simple year-based approach.

The company, of course, has already done this with its apps, even though it’s doing the automaker’s annoying thing of jumping a year ahead. iOS 26, macOS 26, and so on in the span 2025-2026.

Since doing the same with iPhones will do you increasing numbers, I have suggested that it would make sense to take the same approach as it does for Macs and iPads, and use the single word year in parentheses.

The names of the iPhone start to feel silly as the numbers get bigger. Will we end up with iPhone 53? iPhone 104?

The best way, in my opinion, is to drop the number altogether, to bring the iPhone in line with other Apple products. Current model is iPhone (iPhone, iPhone Air, iPhone Pro, iPhone Pro Max) and previous model is iPhone (year).

When you go to an Apple store or website to buy a MacBook Air, you’re not buying a MacBook Air 13 (meaning the 13-inch model, not the 13-inch size), you’re buying a 13- or 15-inch MacBook Air. If Apple needs to differentiate a particular model, then it used to do that by year in brackets, and now it does it by chip. Of the two, I actually think the year makes sense for the average consumer.

The current iPhone system will be as follows:

• iPhone (2025)
• iPhone Air (2025)
• iPhone Pro (2025)
• iPhone Pro Max (2025)

Along with older models still sold directly from Apple:

• iPhone (2024)
• iPhone e (2024)

Although I wouldn’t see the need to spend years on the current models, so what you’ll see in the store will be similar to what you see on the MacBook Air:

• The iPhone
• iPhone Air
• iPhone Pro
• iPhone Pro Max
• iPhone (2024)
• iPhone e (2024)

I would also suggest that Apple lower the model numbers of the other products where they currently use it – Apple Watch and AirPods. For example, AirPods Pro 3 will become AirPods Pro (2025).

Simply put, I would hold my nose and let Apple use the car manufacturing system to match the operating system, so that the year would be displayed as the next year.

What are your thoughts? Should Apple ditch the iPhone numbers and just use the year when necessary? Please take our survey and share your thoughts in the comments.

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Photo: 9to5Mac/Apple